Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados vol. 34 n. 1 Rio de Janeiro 1991
Abstract
The article proposes a kind of logic for investigating the causes behind processes of institutional transformation or change. Formal institutions are defined as systems of rules capable of mediating and resolving social conflicts. To this end, the system must grant a group of individuals, or an individual, coercive resources and bargaining power, and in exchange the system must be able to count on two things: the obedience of a team responsible for implementing these rules and the consent of the individuals protected by the institution. This unequal distribution of power resources is identified as a possible ground for questioning the legitimacy of institutional arrangements. A change in the consciousness of the actors who, albeit dispossessed, obey the prevailing rules, and a decrease in the resource level of the actors who monitor and enforce these institutional rules, are pointed to as some of the causes behind this questioning. There are other causes, which are the direct results of choices made by the actors themselves; these include, for example: (1) the lack of reciprocity that results from noncompliance with the norms that regulate behavioral expectations and (2) power abuse by institutional administrators. Acting together, these causes break the consensus that supports the institutional structure, and this in turn forces a revision of the structure's defining rules and of the procedures for enforcing these rules.
Uma Lógica da Mudança Institucional
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